Staff/Principal AI Software Engineer - Snowflake CoWork

Snowflake; Menlo Park (CA); On-site; USD 264,000 - 380,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision insurance

401(k) retirement plan

Equity plan

Paid holidays

Job summary

Snowflake seeks a Principal AI Software Engineer to lead the deployment of large-scale AI applications and to shape the technical vision for Snowflake CoWork.

You will architect multi-agent systems, drive reliability, and bridge Research with Production to scale AI capabilities across the company.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of software engineering, with 2+ years leading deployment of LLM-based applications at scale.
• Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Computer Science, AI, or related field.
• Deep understanding of LLM orchestration, prompt optimization, and robust guardrails.

Responsibilities

• Define long-term technical vision for Snowflake Intelligence and architect multi-agent systems.
• Build reliable, automated hill-climbing infrastructure to measure LLM performance.
• Bridge Research and Production, aligning AI capabilities with business goals.
• Design extensible context engineering patterns for cross-team use and external developers.
• Mentor Staff and Senior engineers and lead cross-functional project teams.

Education

Bachelor’s/Master’s/PhD in Computer Science, AI, or related field

Tools

LLM orchestration

Prompt optimization

Semantic modeling

Guardrails for non-deterministic systems

SQL/Retrieval Systems/Semantic Layers

Job description

At Snowflake, we are powering the era of the agentic enterprise. To usher in this new era, we seek AI-native thinkers across every function who are energized by the opportunity to reinvent how they work. You don’t just use tools; you possess an innate curiosity, treating AI as a high-trust collaborator that is core to how you solve problems and accelerate your impact. We look for low-ego individuals who thrive in dynamic and fast-moving environments and move with an experimental mindset — who rapidly test emerging capabilities to discover simpler, more powerful ways to deliver results. At Snowflake, your role isn't just to execute a function, but to help redefine the future of how work gets done.

The Cortex CoWork team

Our mission is to transform how the world’s largest enterprises interact with their data through flagship products like Snowflake (CoWork) Intelligence.

What you will do in this role:

• Technical Strategy & Architecture: Define the long-term technical vision for Snowflake Intelligence. Lead the architectural design of multi-agent systems, complex tool-use frameworks, and self-correcting NL-to-SQL engines.
• Drive Industry-Leading Reliability: Move beyond simple evals to build world-class, automated "hill-climbing" infrastructure. You will establish the methodology for how Snowflake measures and guarantees LLM performance across diverse customer schemas.
• Cross-Functional Influence: Partner with Product and Engineering leadership to align AI capabilities with business goals. You will bridge the gap between Research (modeling) and Production (infra), ensuring the latest LLM breakthroughs are viable at Snowflake scale.
• Ecosystem Thinking: Design extensible "context engineering" patterns—including advanced function calling and semantic layer integration that can be leveraged by other Snowflake teams and external developers.
• Technical Leadership & Mentorship: Act as a force multiplier. You will mentor Staff and Senior engineers, lead cross-functional "strike teams" on high-stakes projects, and foster a culture of technical excellence and rapid experimentation.

Requirements:

• Experience: 7+ years of software engineering experience, with 2+ years specifically leading the deployment of LLM-based applications at massive scale.
• Education: Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Computer Science, AI, or a related field.
• Expertise: Deep, "under-the-hood" understanding of LLM orchestration. You should be an expert in prompt optimization, semantic modeling, and building robust guardrails for non-deterministic systems.
• Systems Thinking: Proven track record of designing complex systems that integrate AI with traditional data stacks (SQL, Retrieval Systems, Semantic Layers).
• Communication: Exceptional ability to communicate complex technical trade-offs to both executive leadership and ICs. You are as comfortable in a design doc as you are in a boardroom.
• Proven Impact: You have previously held a "Principal" or equivalent high-level IC role, or have led the technical launch of a major AI product used by millions. Staff/Principal AI Software Engineer - Snowflake CoWork

Snowflake is growing fast, and we’re scaling our team to help enable and accelerate our growth. We are looking for people who share our values, challenge ordinary thinking, and push the pace of innovation while building a future for themselves and Snowflake.

How do you want to make your impact?

For jobs located in the United States, please visit the job posting on the Snowflake Careers Site for salary and benefits information: careers.snowflake.com

The following represents the expected range of compensation for this role:

• The estimated base salary range for this role is $264,000 - $379,500.
• Additionally, this role is eligible to participate in Snowflake’s bonus and equity plan.

The successful candidate’s starting salary will be determined based on permissible, non-discriminatory factors such as skills, experience, and geographic location. This role is also eligible for a competitive benefits package that includes: medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance; 401(k) retirement plan; flexible spending & health savings account; at least 12 paid holidays; paid time off; parental leave; employee assistance program; and other company benefits.

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